In a hearing regarding a bribery case, CBI Deputy Superintendent of Police, Devender Kumar was sent for 14 days to judicial custody, quoted as ordered by a Delhi Court. Devender was arrested in connection with a bribery case also involving former Director-General Rakesh Asthana.
Tagging along with Kumar was an alleged middleman, businessman Manoj Prasad also involved in the same case. They were sent to jail after the CBI said they were no longer needed for custodial interrogation. The court, however, said it will hear Kumar’s bail plea in due course.
In response, Kumar’s lawyer told the court that the CBI was tampering with the evidence to trap its own officers. He also added that a case of theft & extortion should be filed against CBI officials investigating the case.
Satish Dagar, the investigating officer in the case, told the court that he took over the inquiry recently & stated that there were no additional items with the CBI apart from those mentioned in the seizure memo. The items mentioned had been seized for the purpose of retrieving data.
Manoj also moved a bail application in respect to which the court asked for the CBI’s response.
Devender Kumar was also accused of forging the statement of a Hyderabad-based businessman- Sathish Babu Sana, who was a key witness in the bribery case involving Asthana. Special Director Asthana was sent on leave last week along with Director Alok Verma after they both accused each other of corruption.
Asthana is accused of accepting an Rs. 2 Crore bribe from Sana to spare him any action in the case involving meat exporter, Moin Qureshi.
